High Count of Beluzia
The High Count of Beluzia is the head of the federal council of nobles. His only duty is to act as speaker of the council, and to propose a cabinet. As head of state, he has certain reserve powers which apply in war time. These can be increased or reduced by the federal council. The federal council even has the authority to dethrone the High Count and install one of their preference; if they prefer, they may even declare the throne "vacant" and collectively exercise his duties but such measures only last until the next election, where the throne is up to direct vote. Appointment Bronze Throne Every county, in the Beluz Union, has its own throne. Many perceive Beluzia as a single nation with the monarch as the actual monarch, but Beluzia's political scene is focused on the oligarchy which sits beneath the monarch. The Count-General of each county is considered to hold a "bronze throne" status. Silver Throne The High Count is usually directly elected by the people. In such cases, the High Count will hold a "silver throne" status. He will still have to stand in elections, meaning the citizens can dethrone him. Gold Throne By default, the High Count holds a "silver throne" status, since he would be directly elected by the people to get the position. A supermajority vote, within the federal council, can be used to promote him to a "gold throne status" which would allow him to sit on the throne for a longer period of time, where elections will have no effect on his position. In such cases, the throne is still not hereditary, meaning the successor of the throne can't simply "inherit" it. Instead, the people elect the next High Count if the incumbent one dies, abdicates, or gets demoted to "silver throne" status. International Monarchist League Recognition The Beluz System wasn't originally recognised by the IML. The Karavs have asked the IML to recognise individual houses, instead of the throne itself. That way, they can recognise the throne on the basis of who holds it. The non-sovereign monarchies are the "real monarchies" of Beluzia, since the term lengths of their leaders span for decades. The Karavs' uninterrupted 40-year reign, of Iker Ado, was justification for their request. They have tried to explain to the IML that the "High Count" position is merely symbolic, with reserve powers in the collective interest of the union, but the real monarchs are the 5 who each control their own county. The 5 counties make up the union. History Disputes According to the founding fathers of the Beluz Union, Andrew Stanton only held the "head of state" position from being the head of state of the Beluz FPR, but the real first head of state, appointed since the formation of the new system, was Tackoppe Lligro. Kristov II was assassinated in March 3351. His wife, Celeste, had already been the High Countess (as consort) since February 3343 along with him, but she sat on the throne by herself for another 8 months after he died. In October 3359, the Karavs had gained control of 4 of the 5 counties in the union. They had also won the first round of the HoS election, with over 40%. The Stantons had only 30.28% of the votes in the first round, and they never had control of any counties. For this reason, the Karavs refused to recognise them as the legitimate holders of the throne, and declared secession for the 4 counties they controlled. They had controlled the entire mainland. Category:Beluzia Category:Heads of State Category:Nobility